Method of treating articles of celluloid and the like



s. A. NEIDICH Aug. 7, 1 934.

METHOD OF TREATING ARTICLES OF CELLULOID AND THE LIKE Filed April 17, 1950 Patented Aug. 7, 1934 METHOD OF TREATING ARTICLES F CELLULOID ANDTHE LIKE Samuel A. Neidich, Edgewater Para-N. J. Application April 1'7, 1930, Serial No. 444,954

Claims.

This is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 346,788 filed March 13, 1929, for Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,822,538 granted September 8, 1931, which in- L eludes claims for the means for eifecting the method claimed inthis application.

My invention relates to products of cellulose, such as celluloid, cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate and the like, and the object and effect thereof are to form a pattern upon such materialand particularly upon tubes which are adapted to form the bodies and caps for fountain pens, pencils, and the like. Such tubes may be formed by rolling comparatively thin sheets of such material upon a mandrel, while softened with any suitable solvent. For in stance, acetone isa suitable solvent for celluloid and cellulose nitrate, and ethyl acetate, or a mixture of alcohol and ether, are suitable solvents for cellulose acetate.

I am aware that imprints of the name and address ofmanufacturers of such writing implement casings have been made on such casings by indenting them with a roller or rollers in What may be termed a knurling operation. However, such rollers are diflicult and costly to produce and are not adapted for attaining some of the effects characteristic of my invention.

As hereinafter described, an essential feature'of my improved method is impressing the outer surface of the article of celluloid or the like, by rolling the same in contact with a pat-' tern element including a substantially fiatimpression member extending in a plane tangenm1 to the perimeter of said article.

The advantage of such a method of imposing a pattern is that the pattern element may be made by any ordinary process of engraving, photographing, or electrotyping adapted for use in: producing printing elements for illustrations and at far less cost that the rotary devices aforesaid. Moreover, it is easier to provide means for heating. such pattern plates to facilitate the making of impressions therefrom 'by the softening effect of heat upon the cellulose products aforesaid.

My invention includes the various novel features of the method hereinafter more definitely specified.

In said drawing; Fig. I is a front elevation of a mechanism including means for effecting my improved method.

Fig. II is a cross sectional View of a tube of celluloid and the like, having regions thereof coated with material adapted to resist the action of dye.

i Fig. III is a cross sectional view of a tube of celluloid or the like having pattern indentations formed therein by my improved method and means. 1 a

Fig. IV is a perspective view "of a cylinder with a pattern imposed upon the surface thereof by my improved method and means.

Referring 'to Fig. I; the base frame 1- has standards 2 and 3 in which are journaled shafts 5 and G; Said shaft 5 is the main driving shaft and is conveniently adapted to be rotated by the gear wheel 9 fixed thereon and adapted to be engaged by a motor gear 10. Said shaft 5 carries the head stock 11 having the recess 12 adapted to engage the flattened end 13 of the cylindrical mandrel' l l, which is detachably engaged at its opposite end in the tail stock 16 carriedbythe idlel rotary shaft 17 which is journaled in the standard 18'of said frame 1.-

Said tail stock 16 is normally pressed to the left in Fig. I, toengage said mandrel 'l4,'by the spring 2il 'which encircles said shaft '17, and the latter hasthe knob handle 21 by which said stock 16 maybe Withdrawn to the right to re lea'se said mandrel. Said 'rnandrel has, temporarily rigidly connected therewith, the tube 22 of cell'ul'oid 'or the like upon which the-pattern is to be imposed. l

The substantially flat pattern element 23 which is to be used to impress the outer surface of" the tube 22 extends in a plane tangential to the perimeter of said article 22 and, as above contemplated, may be an embossed or recessed plate formed by any suitable process. Said pattern element 23 is temporarilyrigidly mount-- ed upon the slide 25, conveniently by a pair of clamp members 26 at respectively opposite ends thereof, only one being shown in Fig. I. Said slide has the slideway 27 therein fitted on the guide rail 28 which is stationary upon the top of the box 29 which is rigidly connected with said frame 1. Saidbox may include any. suitable heating; means, as a body of hot fluid. Howeven-I findit convenient tov employ the electric heating coil 30 which. is supplied with electrical energy through the conductors $1 and 32.

The effect of the heating element in the box 29 is to maintain the slide 25' and pattern element 23 at any desired temperature to facilitate the impressing of the pattern element upon the celluloid or the like "22. For instance, it is desirable to maintain the pattern element at a temperature slightly above 212 E, for softening celluloid.

Although said slide 25 may be caused to move tangentially with respect to the perimeter ,of the article 22, merely by frictional engagement with the surface of the latter; I find it desirable to positively movethe pattern element at the same surface speed as the perimeter of the article upon which the pattern is to be imposed. Therefore, I find it convenient to provide said shaft 5 with the gear 35 in mesh with the gear 36 on the shaftfi, and to provide the latter with the gear 38, the pitch diameter of which is the same as the diameter of the article 22. Said gear 38 engages the rack 39 on the slide 25 so as to move the latter and the pattern element 23, at the same surface speed as the article 22, when both are turned by the gearing connections above described. It is to be understood that a pattern may be imposed, by the element 23, upon the article 22, by-rolling the article in contact with the pattern element during a single rectilinear movement of the latter;

Such movement may be limited by the length of the rack 39;v so that the slide 25 comes to rest at the end of the impressing operation.

Thereupon, the mandrel 14 may be released by withdrawing the knob handle 21 to the right and another -mandrel be inserted and the slide 25 be manually replaced, in its original position, and the rectilinear movement thereof be repeated by engagement of said rack 39 with said gear 38, and so on. 7

The method above described may be effected in several different ways. However, as indicated in Fig. II, an article 22, mounted as shown in Fig. I, may be initially provided with a continuous coating of parafiin or other dye resisting 'material 45, by any convenient means, for instance,an ordinary paint brush, or through the perforated air brush tube 48 extending parallel with the axis of rotation of said article 22, as shown in Fig. II, during the rolling operation, and, by rolling contact with a suitable pattern element 23, portions of such dye resisting material v45 may be removed at regions 46 of said 7 article 22 so as to expose the article to the action of dye 4'7 which may be blown thereon through said air brush tube 48 during the rolling operation. After such dyeing operation; the dye resisting material 45 maybe removed, con.-

veniently bywarming thearticle 22.

In Fig. III, the article 22 is indented at its outer surface, by a suitable pattern element 23, so as to form recesses 50.- be filled with dye resisting material, such as abovecontemplated, while the otherportions of the perimeter of said article 22 are dyed; or said recesses 50 maybe filled with an enamel differing in color or texture in comparison with the material of the tube 22. For instance, Fig. IV shows a cylinder 51 having such pattern marks 50 thereon.

' Therefore, I do not desire to limit myself to the precise details of my improved method herein set forth, as it is obvious that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the essential features of my invention, as'defined in the appended claims.

Such recesses may.

tangential to. the perimeter of said article;

wherein material is removed from the cylindrical surface of the article by said impression member during the rolling operation.

2. The method of treating a cylindrical article of celluloidand the like, to form a pattern thereon, which includes impressing the outer surface thereof by rolling the article in contact with a pattern element including a substantially fiat impression member extending in a plane tangential to the perimeter of said article; wherein dye resisting material 'is removed from a region of the surface of the article impressed; dye is thereafter applied to the article, at the regions protected by said resisting material, and elsewhere; and, thereafter, said resisting material is removed; whereby said article is provided with a pattern of contrasting regions, respectively undyed and dyed. Y

3. The method of? treating a cylindrical article of celluloid and the like, to form a pattern thereon, which includes coating a portion thereof with a liquid which is thensolidified thereon and impressing the outer surface thereof by rolling the article in contact with a pattern element including a substantially fiat impression member extending ina plane tangential to the perimeter of said article;, thereafter a dye is applied to said surface and penetrates an uncoated region thereof; and, thereafter, said coating is removed, leaving said article with a pattern of contrasting regions of said surface, respectively undyed and dyed.

, 4. The method of treating a cylindrical article of celluloid and the like, to form a pattern thereon, which includes coating a portion there- 'of with a hot liquid which is then cooled and thus solidified thereon and impressing the outer surface thereof by rolling the article in contact with a pattern element including a substantially fiat impression member extending in a plane tangential to the perimeter of said article; thereafter, a dye is applied to said surface and penetrates an uncoated region thereof and thereafter said coating is remelted and removed; leaving said article provided with a pattern of contrasting regions of said surface, respectively undyed and dyed.

5. The method of treating a cylindrical article of celluloid and the like, to form a pattern thereon, which includes impressing the outer surface thereof by rolling the article incontact 

